


Experiment X

by gyllensbeck



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28756023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gyllensbeck/pseuds/gyllensbeck
Summary: On an island off the coast of Europe, a dark force threatens the balance of everyone who lives there. Legends of mysterious stones with varying levels of power surround the land. Years ago, the most powerful stone of all, a beautiful emerald, set off a curse, shrouding the land in darkness. The once historic town, Emerald Town, became a ghost town, most people terrified to be near the museum that held he stones. Years later, a man named Gideon Shade takes the emerald for himself, disrupting what little peace was left in the town. He goes into hiding to perfect his newfound powers, vowing to take over the land and bring chaos in his wake.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue

Malcolm Shade shifted nervously outside of the emerald museum, watching the building like it was going to jump out and attack him. His thick, wavy black hair blew around in the light breeze, obscuring his vision for a moment. He hastily brushed it out of his eyes, making a noise of annoyance in the back of his throat. It was his first shift on security of the ancient relic exhibit, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t close to terrified. The amount of power alone in that room was enough to drive the strongest man mad, which was why the position was never filled for long. But someone had to guard the precious stones. Otherwise, who knows what would happen? He had been given specific instructions to keep a close eye on the relic in the middle of the room—the infamous emerald. Malcolm had never seen it up close. He’d only ever heard of its brilliance. Which was intimidating enough, from the way people talked about it.

Swallowing hard, he took a deep breath, before entering the museum through the grand entryway. The inside was absolutely breathtaking. Intricate, swirling designs were carved into pillars that held up the ceiling, and a skylight above filtered in what little light the moon and stars provided. Display cases were against the walls, surrounded by ropes. A few paintings of the island's history were along the walls, normally illuminated with bright lights. Currently, all the lights were out, since the museum was closed. The place was quite eerie with nothing but the moonlight illuminating the room.

A slight chill running down his spine, Malcolm continued down a long, dimly lit hallway. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the flashlight he had been issued and switching it on. He shined it down the hall until he reached the exhibit he was looking for: 12A. He stopped in front of the door, biting his lip with uncertainty. He had no idea what awaited him on the other side of the door. There was a reason people never had his job for very long. After a moment, he took another deep breath, and pushed the door open. He let it shut loudly behind him, causing him to jump slightly.

The room beyond was even darker, and his heart began to race. Letting out a shaky breath, he shined the flashlight until he was far enough into the room where there was more light. When he saw the source of the light, he gasped in wonder.

The legendary relics were displayed just a few feet away, glowing vibrant colors. The glass cases were displayed in a circle, surrounding the star of the show, the emerald. Malcolm had heard rumors that they were sorted by amount of power, with the emerald in the center being the most powerful of them all. Malcolm understood why the lights were completely out in here; it allowed whoever was in here to see the brilliance of the stones. It was quite an incredible sight to behold.

He switched off his flashlight and shoved it back in his pocket, his blue eyes fixed upon the stones. For whatever reason, he couldn’t look away. He found himself walking towards the display cases in a daze, eyes reflecting their multicolored glow. When he was close enough to touch them, time seemed to slow, yet at the same time, everything that came next happened in a blur. 

The emerald began to glow brighter and brighter, until it became unbearable to look at. Malcolm shielded his eyes from the light, and the next thing he knew, he had been flung off his feet and slammed against the far wall, by what seemed to be an invisible force. He cried out in agony, quickly sitting up despite the burning pain. He still couldn’t see, the light was too blinding. His ears were ringing, and the earth beneath him was shaking violently. He scrambled to his feet. He had to get out of here. He quickly lost his balance, and fell on his back, hard. He groaned, closing his eyes quickly against the persistent light. 

He could faintly hear screaming just beyond the ringing in his ears, and he wondered how bad this was beyond this room. What had caused such a reaction? Did he have anything to do with it? Surely not, he wasn’t anyone special. he was a simple, ordinary man. Nonetheless, he began to have his doubts. No one had had such a thing happen to them while they were around the stones. Most had gone mad, while others fled in fear of the immense power they had sensed, but none had caused the emerald to react in such a way.

He sighed in relief as the bright light subsided, though the emerald continued to glow ominously. He sat up, and then, he heard it. Indistinct whispers, none of the words decipherable. They were loud, and persistent. He winced, covering his ears. It had no effect, however, and the whispers continued. Trying his best to ignore them, he carefully got to his feet again, ducking as a piece of the ceiling fell right by him. Shaking with terror, he ran towards the exit, dodging debris as he went. When he got to the door, he quickly pushed it open, ducking outside.

Outside, everything was worse. The whispers had stopped, and now all he could hear were screams and sirens. He rushed into the chaos of the crowd, stumbling a bit as the earth shook more violently than before. He managed to make it over to a police officer who was trying to calm all the civilians down.

Out of breath, he braced his hands on his knees, looking at the officer with terrified and frantic eyes. The officer turned to him in surprise. Malcolm spoke before he could say anything. “The relics.... I was supposed to.... I was supposed to watch the exhibit... for the night.... and.... the emerald.... it caused all this. I don’t know what happened....”

The officer’s eyes grew wide and slightly confused. “Whoa, slow down.” He nodded towards the museum. “The ancient relics caused this?”

Malcolm nodded. “The emerald, to be exact.” He looked around, stepping out of the way as someone ran past him. Ambulances and police cars were parked haphazardly in the area, sirens blaring loudly. People rushed towards loved ones, frantically calling out to others. Malcolm couldn’t believe all this destruction could be caused by a stone. It didn’t make much sense to him. He pushed his way past the officer, ignoring his protests and frantic questions of what had happened in there. He didn’t even stop to talk to his boss, he just kept walking, past the museum and down the steps.

One thing in particular was bothering him. Out of all the incoherent whispers he had heard, he could have sworn he had made out two words—a name. One that he didn’t know, but caused him to tremble nonetheless. The name it had whispered to him was Gideon Shade.


	2. Chapter 2

Gideon stood right by the window in the grand library in his mansion, hands behind his back. He looked out upon the forest, marveling in its beauty. It was a fairly beautiful day, which caused Gideon to smile without much humor. It was almost tragic that he would soon be ruining the serenity of this wondrous island. Although, he didn’t think it was all that wonderful. This wretched island no longer seemed as wonderful when everything he had ever loved had been taken from him. He scowled at the memories, his bright green eyes full of bitterness. He no longer viewed this place as home, and yet, he had some unfinished business to attend to.

He turned and began to leave the room, going over his plan once more in his head. He had been planning this for months, and he was determined to do it right. He flexed his right hand, a green stone set in his gold ring gleaming in the light. Almost a year ago, he had come across an ancient relic in his hometown, known as Emerald Town. Back then, he had been a wreck. Lost and heartbroken, a shell of the man he was now. He scoffed at the thought. He had been so weak and pathetic, but this stone, a beautiful emerald that held dark, mysterious powers, had granted him abilities beyond his imagination. It had made him stronger, not only physically, but mentally as well. No longer would he show weakness and cower at the simplest things–no, he now had the power to make grown men tremble before him. He had been harnessing his powers ever since he had obtained the stone, waiting for the right moment, when he was ready to wreak havoc on this miserable island. And now, he was ready to show the citizens of this land what he could do.

He had heard rumors, of two teenage girls in Emerald Town that possessed incredible abilities. At first, Gideon hadn’t thought much of it– it had nothing to do with him, and he had no use for two girls with powers they had no idea how to use. However, word got around, and one bit of information caught his attention immediately. The girls were the daughters of the infamous Alexander Sakari; a horrible and crazy scientist who experimented on humans for his own personal gain, not caring that what he was doing was illegal. He worked in secret, and while he was well known, he was never caught. Citizens had begun to believe he bribed the local authorities to stay quiet, and Gideon had a feeling that they weren’t far off. Nonetheless, Gideon had had a personal vendetta against this man.

Alexander had tried his methods on him, when he was only sixteen. Back then, he had been terrified, and it was pure luck that he had made it out of Alexander’s lab alive. He had tried to report him to the authorities, but, of course, they simply ignored the situation entirely. For weeks, he had feared for his life, scared out of his mind, just waiting for Alexander to come back and try again. But he never had. Over the years, the fear he had felt turned into anger. So, when he had stumbled upon the emerald years later, his first thoughts had been of revenge.

He hadn’t put much thought into it, had simply rushed off to find Alexander, desperate to spill his blood. And oh, it had been so easy to make the man who had made him so scared all those years ago cower and beg for his life to be spared. But Gideon was beyond the point of listening to reason. He had made Alexander’s death painful and slow. That was his first dark act, and it changed his way of thinking from that point on.

So, when he heard Alexander had two daughters, years after he had brutally killed him, and found out they had powers of their own? He was intrigued. He had no doubt that their father had experimented on them as young children, thus giving them the powers they now possessed. So, he had began to plan how he would get his hands on them. Of course, he was powerful on his own, but for one thing, having more power at his disposal would benefit him greatly. And for another, he wanted Alexander’s children to pay, in a sense, for everything their father had done, all those years ago.

With a smirk and a dark gleam in his eyes, he straightened his tie and smoothed back his bright red hair. The time had finally come to put his plan into motion. Soon, he would have the citizens of this island cowering at his feet and begging for his mercy. He would soon rule over this whole land, it was only a matter of time. Once he made sure he looked presentable enough, he teleported from his house deep in the forest, to the infamous ghost town, Emerald Town.  
————  
Yuki pulled her white blonde hair up in a messy high ponytail, securing her hair band tightly, before standing and going to find her sister. Their mother, Stephanie, had left them for a bit to go grocery shopping. She had left Yuki’s older sister, Melody, in charge, which Yuki didn’t mind. Her and Melody always got along; they were very close. They practically did everything together. Melody was always protective of Yuki, since she was younger, and while it sometimes annoyed Yuki, it didn’t always bother her. She loved her older sister, and honestly looked up to her. Ever since their father’s death, money had been tight. Alexander Sakari had been a wealthy man, but all of that money was taken from them after he died, unfortunately. Stephanie struggled to take care of her daughters most days, and Yuki and Melody did everything they could to help out. Besides going to school, Melody and Yuki worked at a nearby ice cream shop some days, to help with their financial issues. They had learned to appreciate what little they had, and not care about fancy things. All that mattered to them was family, and getting food on the table.

Yuki stopped in the hallway when she heard a knock at the door. She looked over her shoulder, frowning. Her mother always told her never to answer the door when she was away; the town wasn’t entirely safe, after all. Emerald Town was a ghost town, so while it was mostly deserted, there were some horrible people that lurked in the shadows. Still, she was curious. They never really got any visitors. Curiosity eventually got the better of her, and she walked back into the living room, before entering the entryway of their apartment, and carefully opening the door. Who she saw on the other side made her regret ever opening it..

A man stood in the doorway, tall and very intimidating. He had slightly spiked up, fiery red hair, and the brightest green eyes she had ever seen. He wore a simple black suit, and the ring on his finger gleamed in the sunlight, a precious green stone set in it. He regarded her with a bit of interest, although nothing about his demeanor was friendly.

Yuki felt as though she were reliving a horrible nightmare. Horrible images flickered in her mind, and her hands began to tremble slightly. She hadn’t realized right away who this man was, but it hadn’t taken long for it to click in her mind. She had been rather young when her father had been ruthlessly murdered in her kitchen, but it was something she would never forget. She knew everything about that day in excruciating detail, from the look of terror in her father’s eyes, to the blood on the man’s hands who had stabbed him in the heart. Her father’s blood. And that man, the one who had single handedly ruined her family’s life, was standing right in front of her. 

Her mind screamed at her to run, but she couldn’t move. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t breathe. All she could do was stare at him with wide, terrified eyes. She briefly remembered the name her father had spoken when he had been begging for his life to be spared; the man’s name was Gideon. Not that Yuki cared, but she remembered regardless. She watched Gideon’s eyes flicker with brief confusion, before realization dawned on his face. He chuckled, fixing the cuffs of his sleeves. “You saw, didn’t you?” He spoke softly, his tone full of amusement. Yuki couldn’t respond, but she didn’t manage to let out a pitiful whimper. Gideon smirked faintly. “Hm, I didn’t realize I had an audience that day. This changes things a little, doesn’t it?”

Yuki tried to reply, but her tongue felt like it was being weighed down with lead, and she found she couldn’t form any words. She jumped as she heard her sister’s voice from down the hall. “Yuki! Who’s at the door? I thought mother told you not to answer it when she’s not around.” Melody’s voice got closer, and when she stopped beside Yuki, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. She glanced at Yuki, sensing her sister’s fear. “Yuki, what is it?” She glanced at Gideon with a frown, before looking at her sister once more. “What’s going on?”

Yuki let out a shaky breath, backing up a step. She could feel Gideon’s eyes on her, and she shuddered. She tried to form words again, and to her relief, she finally managed to speak, although her voice was extremely shaky. “He-he…. he’s the one who—“ She cut off, tears streaming down her face. “He k-killed father, Mel.” She felt Melody tense next her, and she heard her take in a sharp breath. Yuki heard Gideon chuckle again, and Yuki let out a terrified cry as he came inside and shut the door behind him.

Melody looked at him sharply, anger sparking in her green eyes. “How dare you come into our house! You can’t just—“ She cut off as Gideon’s eyes narrowed, the amusement gone from his expression. Yuki saw Melody swallow, and she realized that her sister was just as scared as she was.

“Enough. In case you haven’t heard, your father was a horrible man. You should thank me, I practically did you a favor!” Melody was trembling beside her, and Yuki would have tried to comfort her, but she was just as scared. She cried out as Gideon took a step forward, and what happened next took Yuki completely off guard.

Melody had let out a shriek, and within the blink of an eye, the air around them seemed to ripple, and all of a sudden, Melody’s eyes were glowing, and objects around the house began to float, hovering in the air around her. Yuki gasped, and she heard Gideon laugh quietly behind her. She glanced at him, before looking at Melody again, stunned. After a moment, the objects fell, books crashing to the floor and vases shattering when they hit the ground. Melody looked just as surprised as Yuki did, her eyes wide.

“As I suspected.” Yuki barely had time to register Gideon’s words, because in the next second, he had roughly grabbed their wrists, pulling them towards him. They both let out a startled cry, and Yuki tried to get away, but Gideon’s hold on them was strong. With a satisfied smirk, his eyes flashed a dark green, and the next thing Yuki knew, everything went black.

————  
Kanji walked next to his best friend, Jimmy, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. They were on their way to school, but they had to stop to pick up their friends, Yuki and Melody, along the way. They always did this; Kanji knew they didn’t have a way to get there by car, so him and Jimmy had started walking them to school, mainly for their safety, but also to keep them company. Kanji knew what it was like, growing up with next to nothing. He and his brother had been raised by their uncle since Kanji was thirteen, since both of their parents had died of a deadly illness that year. Trip wasn’t a horrible person, not by any means, but he had lost his job a few months after gaining custody of them, and they had struggled for a while. Trip was rarely home, trying to find ways to get money, so Kanji basically had to raise his brother on his own. It had been rough, but they had managed. But, Kanji wanted to be there for Yuki and Melody, because he knew how it felt to struggle to survive.

Kanji brushed his light brown hair out of his eyes, glancing around the town. It was more quiet than usual, and he wasn’t certain as to why. It made him slightly uneasy, but he tried to ignore it. He was probably just imagining things, something he tended to do often. His brother, Cody, had always lightheartedly made fun of him for his overactive imagination, which he probably got from reading way too many superhero comics. It had been his way of escape from the cruelty of the world, a way to forget his problems for a moment and imagine what it would be like in a better world, one without all the pain and suffering he had been through. So, getting a feeling that something was different wasn’t always accurate, so he elected to overlook it.

They arrived at Melody’s and Yuki’s house, and Kanji stopped next to Jimmy as he knocked twice, which was their way of signaling it was them, and not some random stranger. After a moment of silence, Jimmy and Kanji gave each other a questioning glance. Jimmy tried again, but there was still no answer. Frowning, Kanji stepped past him, trying the door. It was unlocked, and that made him wary. Eyebrows furrowed, he opened the door and walked inside. The place was eerily quiet, and Kanji immediately noticed the mess in the living room. He looked around anxiously, and Jimmy went past him to check the rest of the house. Kanji leaned down and picked up one of the books on the floor, a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. What had happened? It was something bad, by the looks of it. He looked up as Jimmy came back into the room and shook his head solemnly. Kanji ran a hand through his hair, worry filling him.

“What the hell happened?” Kanji wondered aloud. Jimmy shook his head again, stepping over shattered pieces from a vase. Kanji continued to look around the room, trying to make sense of it all, when he heard Jimmy’s phone ring. He looked up, watching Jimmy answer it, his brown eyes questioning.

Jimmy held the phone up to his ear with a frown. “Hello?” He paused to listen to the person on the other line, before responding. “Yeah, we were, we stopped by Yuki’s and Melody’s house first, but they aren’t here.” Another pause. “I don’t know, they would have told us if they were going somewhere this morning.” He frowned, something seeming to catch his eye. He leaned down, picking up a strand of bright red hair. “Hold on, Mom.” He held the phone away from his ear, addressing Kanji. “Do we know anyone with red hair?” Kanji shrugged, unable to think of anyone. Jimmy returned to the phone call, worrying at his lip slightly. “Sorry. I think I found a piece of evidence. Someone else was here.” He paused once more. “It’s just a strand of red hair, I don’t think we know anyone who—“

Kanji saw Jimmy jump, and even he heard the loud exclamation on the other end of the phone. Kanji could hear his mom frantically speaking, and Jimmy’s eyes widened in alarm. “Mom, calm down! What is it? Do you know something?” He went quiet, and Kanji wished he could hear what his mom was saying. He saw Jimmy tense, looking troubled. “Are you sure, Mom? Okay, okay! What do we do? How do we find him?” Jimmy was messing with the zipper on his jacket, something he always did when he was upset. Kanji watched anxiously, wishing he knew what was going on. Jimmy spoke again. “The forest? Mom, that place goes on for miles, how are we supposed to— Alright, I’ll see what I can do. I’ll call as many people as I can to help. Yeah, I’ll keep you updated. Alright, bye.”

He hung up, giving Kanji a grave look. Kanji looked at him nervously. “What’s going on? Do you know what happened to them?” His voice was frantic, and Jimmy raised his hand.

“My mom said she knew someone, someone who possesses unimaginable power. She said he’s been hiding for awhile, but she seems certain that he came here and took them.”

Kanji’s eyes grew wide with fear. “Who is it? What does he want with them?”

“She said his name is Gideon Shade. As for what he wants, she isn’t entirely sure. She thinks it’s revenge of some kind, because he knew Yuki’s and Melody’s father, and something happened between them.” He sighed. “She wants me to call everyone we know from school, see if they’re willing to help. She said he’s strong, but there’s definitely strength in numbers, so she said we have a chance.”

Kanji’s head spun with all this new information. Regardless, he wanted to help. He refused to sit by while this man, Gideon, did something horrible to them. He looked at Jimmy, a determined look in his eyes. “I’ll help make the calls. Let’s get started.”


End file.
